Veteran journalist Paul Bauman, based in Sacramento, covers all levels of Northern California tennis. Contact him at norcaltennisczar@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @norcaltenczar.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Altamirano, 18, wins first title in pro tourney

Collin Altamirano teamed with Deiton
Baughman to win the doubles title
in a Futures tournament in Florida.
2013 photo by Paul Bauman

Collin Altamirano, an 18-year-old amateur from the Sacramento area, won his first title in a professional tournament on Friday.
The wild-card team of Altamirano and 17-year-old Deiton Baughman of Carson toppled No. 1 seeds Daniel Garza of Mexico and Darian King of Barbados 6-4, 6-4 in the $10,000 Vespan Tennis Futures in Boynton Beach, Fla.
Altamirano, who trains under Joseph Gilbert at Arden Hills in Sacramento and lives in Elk Grove, also earned his first ATP ranking point in singles by reaching the second round as a qualifier.
Last August, Altamirano became the first unseeded player in the 71-year history of the USTA Boys 18 National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich.,
to win the singles title. Past winners include International Tennis Hall of Famers Michael Chang, Stan Smith and Dennis Ralston.
Altamirano was unseeded in the nationals because he had played primarily men's professional and open tournaments, limiting his opportunities to earn junior ranking points.

About Me

Paul Bauman has 36 years of professional newspaper experience, including the past 15 at his hometown Sacramento Bee. He has covered hundreds of pro tennis tournaments, including Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the Australian Open, the Davis Cup, the Fed Cup and the Japan Open. Bauman has earned numerous awards and was nominated for the inaugural class of the Sacramento Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009. He wrote “Agassi & Ecstasy,” a biography of Andre Agassi published in 1997, while working at the Las Vegas Review-Journal in Agassi's hometown and was named the 1986 Nevada Sportswriter of the Year during a stint at the Reno Gazette-Journal. Bauman served as the editor of the ATP newspaper in the Dallas area in 1982-83 and graduated from Stanford University in 1977.